Punjab Kings chase down 210 to beat Chennai Super Kings in the IPL

CHENNAI, India (AP) — Opening batters Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh gave Punjab Kings a flying start to a target of 210 as they overhauled Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Impact substitute Arya set the tone with 39 runs off 11 balls as he and Singh rumbled to 68-1 in the powerplay. Captain Shreyas Iyer's 26-ball half-century and Cooper Connolly's 36 ensured Punjab reached 210-5 with eight balls to spare and won by five wickets.

Chennai thought it put up a defendable total of 209-5 at home thanks to former India Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre's 73 off 43, Shivam Dube's unbeaten 45 off 27 and Sarfaraz Khan's cameo 32 off 12.

But Chennai's bowling was ordinary. Only five bowlers were used while allrounders Dube and debutant Prashant Veer were not used.

“That was an exceptional start for us,” Iyer said. “I feel the way they (Arya and Singh) have been batting has been phenomenal and it stabilizes the rhythm for us. I am glad everyone is getting to bat. It gives immense confidence to the team.”

Arya smacked fast bowler Matt Henry for three fours and a six in a 20-run second over after the left-hander hit Khaleel Ahmed for a four and a six off the first two legitimate balls in the first over.

Singh raised Punjab’s 50 in only the third over when he took three boundaries off Anshul Kamboj.

Henry rattled Arya's off stump and Singh was run out in a mixup with Connolly when the Australian refused to go for a tight second run. Connolly holed out at long-on then Iyer took charge of the chase.

Iyer smashed three sixes and four boundaries in a 59-run stand with Nehal Wadhera that sealed the result.

Earlier, Iyer continued the template of teams preferring to chase when he won the toss and elected to field. Sanju Samson, returning to his home venue, perished in the second over for just 7.

Mhatre showed plenty of aggression in a stand of 96 with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made a scratchy 28 before falling to IPL leading wicket-taker Yuzvendra Chahal in the 12th over.

Mhatre looked set for a big knock after crashing five sixes and six boundaries and was livid with himself when he was caught at short third while attempting an extravagant shot against Vijakumar Vyshak (2-38).

Khan and Dube propelled Chennai beyond 200 but their bowlers couldn't tie down Punjab.

“We felt ... having two wrist-spinners bowling in tandem will help but off-day for both of them and that is what cost us,” Gaikwad said.

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Punjab Kings' Vijaykumar Vyshak celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings' Ayush Mhatre, right, with teammates during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Chennai, India, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Chennai Super Kings' Ayush Mhatre plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Chennai, India, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Cooper Connolly plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Chennai, India, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Chennai, India, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Punjab Kings' Priyansh Arya bowled out by Chennai Super Kings' Matt Henry during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings in Chennai, India, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

HAVANA (AP) — Katia Arias buzzed with hope on Friday morning as she gathered at the gates of a prison on the outskirts of Havana, waiting with other families for their loved ones to be freed in one of the biggest prison releases by the Cuban government in years.

When her 20-year-old son Emilio Alejandro Leyva walked out of the doors of the detention facility with dozens of other prisoners, bags and a small release document in hand, she wrapped her arms around her son, who was detained for a robbery, for the first time in years.

“It has been so difficult, but today God has given me so much joy,” said Arias, 43, breaking down in tears. “Today, I feel so happy. This is how all mothers who will have their children released today should feel.”

The outpouring of joy from families comes the day after Cuba's government said it was going to release 2,010 prisoners in what it said was “humanitarian gestures” ahead of Holy Week; it wasn't immediately clear how many were released on Friday.

The release comes as the Cuban government navigates extreme pressure and a crippling oil blockade by the Trump administration, which has openly expressed the desire for regime change and the release of those arrested for protesting.

It was unclear whether any of the prisoners released Friday are among the 1,214 people activist groups say are imprisoned for political reasons in Cuba. The government denies holding political prisoners.

On Friday, detainees in the La Lima prison on the rural outskirts of Havana said they were woken up at 6 a.m. and heard their names called out. Hours later they were walking into the arms of loved ones awaiting them in front of blue prison gates.

The majority of prisoners interviewed Friday by The Associated Press were not serving time for political charges, though it's uncertain how many of those released were protesters — often charged with public disorder, contempt or terrorism. Many of the more than one thousand people the activist organization Prisoners Defended has registered as detained for political reasons were protesters from the 2021 mass demonstrations on the island, which were met with widespread arrests by the government.

Sporadic protests have broken out in recent months as the island sinks into a deeper crisis. In one March incident, protesters burned the headquarters of the communist party in central Cuba, leading to five arrests.

The lack of information over releases on Friday fueled frustration among human rights and opposition groups, who said the releases were a good sign, but fell short of real change.

“The government presents it as a humanitarian gesture toward prisoners, not as the release of political prisoners,” said Manuel Cuesta Morúa, leader of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, the island’s main opposition platform. “By doing so, it mixes things up to avoid giving the impression that it recognizes political imprisonment in Cuba.”

The group has demanded a government amnesty law and says that people who were previously freed are often placed under house arrest or live under conditions where they can't speak freely.

During a previous release of 51 people in March, organizations monitoring prisons in Cuba noted that 22 had political motives in their cases.

The nongovernmental organization Justicia 11J wrote in a statement Friday that no partial release can be considered progress “as long as the criminalization of the exercise of fundamental rights persists.”

“Although every release represents immediate relief, especially for families, in a context marked by the severity of conditions in the country’s prisons … we warn that this gesture does not constitute a change in the repressive policy of the Cuban state,” the organization said.

The releases come as U.S.-Cuban tensions are running high. The Trump administration has suffocated the island by imposing an oil blockade, pushing the already stricken island to the brink, crippling hospitals and increasing the number of islandwide blackouts.

Cubans were offered a brief moment of relief this week when U.S. President Donald Trump said the government allowed a Russian ship carrying a nine to 10 day supply of fuel to the island. It wasn't clear if the Cuban or Russian governments made any concessions to allow the shipment to go through. A second Russian tanker is on the way.

Cuba periodically frees prisoners at key moments.

In January 2025, Cuba’s government released 553 prisoners as part of talks with the Vatican, a day after the Biden administration announced its intent to lift the U.S. designation of the island nation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Cuba's government said Friday's release marked the fifth since 2011, and that it has freed more than 11,000 people.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, scenes of hope emerged outside the La Lima prison on Friday as families wrapped their arms around each other and a father planted a kiss on the head of his child swaddled in pink.

Damián Fariñas, 20, who has served the majority of his 2-year prison sentence for a robbery, was greeted by three beaming friends waiting for him on the street.

“This is freedom, a pardon, owing nothing to anyone. I’m heading out into the world,” he said.

Associated Press journalists Ramón Espinosa and Ariel Fernández contributed from Havana. Megan Janetsky contributed from Mexico City.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A pardoned prisoner kisses his daughter after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Emilio Alejandro Leyva, a pardoned prisoner, right, hugs his mother Katia Arias Mendoza after his release from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Pardoned prisoners sit in a taxi to return home after leaving La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A pardoned prisoner hugs a family member after being released from La Lima penitentiary in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Damian Farinas, right, walks out of La Lima penitentiary alongside other pardoned prisoners after their release in Guanabo, Cuba, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)